Western miners push for higher metals prices to ward off Chinese rivals
Industry leaders have pushed for two pricing structures for several years.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, billionaire businessman and a memeber of the Saudi royal family, told USA Today that $100 oil prices are history.
“I’m sure we’re never going to see $100 anymore,” said Al-Waleed. “I said a year ago, the price of oil above $100 is artificial. It’s not correct.”
The prince, who was recently estimated to have an estimated wealth of $31.2 billion, said the decline is due to both too much supply and weak global demand. He noted that Iraq and Libya, despite unrest, are both producing a lot of oil. Many major economies, except the US, are weak.
“There’s less demand, and there’s oversupply. And both are recipes for a crash in oil. And that’s what happened. It’s a no-brainer.”
Omniously for the shale gas producers, he predicts many companies will be “run out of business.” The prince says nobody knows what the breaking point of shale gas is.
“At $50, will it still be economically feasible? Unclear. This is a very much developing story.”
Creative Commons image from Flickr
